I was asked by a friend of mine who is a massage therapist what the Good Folk's opinion was on massage and whether or not they had such a thing. It was a great question so I decided to ask my friend among the Other and to write down the answer here. As you might expect the reply gets...interesting.
The initial response was: "Touch is sacred"
Because to me this immediately makes me think of all the examples when touch is painful or negative I looked for clarification which was of course met with annoyance.
Her reply: "Violence isn't touch, violence is violence and it takes many forms. Yes violence can warp touch, can warp any sacred thing, into a tool for violence. But that is not what you are asking about. Touch is sacred. Touch is deliberate connection and interaction, it is choosing to engage physically with that which is around us and with other beings. Just as love is union between separate beings, touch is the bridge of that union."
Me: We touch a lot of things in our daily life though and a lot of things touch us. Is that all sacred?
Her: Living is a sacred act, most humans simply choose not to acknowledge that. Walking is sacred. Preparing and eating food is sacred. Sleeping is sacred. In all of this we choose to touch and in touching we choose to connect to that which is around us. Our feet touch the ground, our hands touch the food we prepare and eat, our body touches the place we sleep. We touch each other. All of these are sacred acts and all involve creating connections with our reality and with the world around us.
Me: What is sacred then? What does it mean?
Her, sighing: "It means to be in harmony with existence, to understand and embrace our place within the greater weaving of life. Every breath is a prayer to the Power that is life. To create that is holy, to perpetuate it is holy, and to end it - in harmony with the weaving - is holy. Pleasure is sacred because it celebrates that harmony. Touch is sacred because it acknowledges the holiness in all things and honours it. All things exist in this balance, either working with the weaving or unweaving it, either existing in harmony or disrupting it, either sacred or basdan*. A thing can not be sacred or be made sacred it simply is or is not. That which is in harmony and filled with the weaving is sacred. It is a sate of being. This is what sacred is, to us at least. As I understand it humans have strange views of things."
Me: "Touch is sacred then, so do [the Good Folk] have a concept of things like massage and body work?"
Her, now humming thoughtfully. "Yes, but I suspect not as humans do. I'm unsure about these concepts in the human world. But massage for health, for mental well being, for pleasure**, these are all things we do. Such focused touching is good for the physical body and for the mental body, and we do this of course among ourselves and sometimes for others outside ourselves - the same way humans do [meaning animals, I assume] because of the many benefits of it. And lovers, well I would think that would be obvious. Touch is sacred and massage, focused medicinal touch, is not only physical but energetic. It needs extra care both by the one receiving it and the one giving it."
Me: "Because of the energy involved?"
Her: "Yes, because it creates deeper connection than casual touch. It is a form of union in its own way that needs to be respected and understood as sacred. But we enjoy it very much and see it as important."
Me: "Are there specific people who do this? As a career?"
Her: "As a life's purpose you mean? There are some healers who focus on this path yes. Many who are more casual in it. I would guess all have some experience or knowledge in one form or another."
*so she used an older Irish word for this or at least a combination of older Irish (the actual word doesn't exist as far as I know). I'm not sure the English translation carries the full meaning so I kept the original word she used here. It basically bas - death, deadly and dán - fate or skill. The meaning I gathered was something like deadened or 'empty of fate' or 'fate-death' as in death of fate. Its kind of hard to convey to be honest but I think its Their idea of the opposite of what is sacred.
** so I gathered here that what she was referring to was what we might call therapeutic massage, massage for mental health purposes, and obviously massage between sexual partners.
